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Skyrim Patch 1.3 is Live, But Does it Work?

Bethesda released the rare patch to fix a patch yesterday, hoping to resolve the issues caused by last week's The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim 1.2 update. The question is, does patch 1.3 come as advertised? Do all dragons now fly head first and does magic resistance once again help players, you know, resist magic? I ventured into the frozen North in search of dragons and spellcasters to find out.

Skyrim 1.2
Before laying out my verdict, a more thorough breakdown on the two most notable issues caused by Skyrim patch 1.2. First, the rare but just plain wacky backwards flying dragon. Though not seen by all of Skyrim's Dovahkiins, a fair share of adventurers managed to capture the mythical beast on film, like YouTube poster LordWadsworth:

Second, and far less amusing, was patch 1.2's devious plan to make life more difficult for Skyrim explorers by removing all magic resistance from the game. Let's say, for example, your character is a square-jawed Breton with a built-in 25% magic resistance. Gone with patch 1.2. Or, you may play as a hardy Nord with an impressive 50% resistance to frost. Yeah, patch 1.2 made fighting Frost Dragons a bit more of a chore.

Not only that, magic immunity was also removed from the game with Skyrim patch 1.2, rendering that flaming Fire Atronach you wisely summoned to do battle with a fireball-shooting witch all-but useless. Not fun for all you mages out there. See proof of the problem in this video from YouTube poster cybrownthe2ed:

Skyrim 1.3
With Skyrim patch 1.3, Bethesda claims these issues have been fixed. But have they? I first headed to Riften, the city where the legendary backwards flying dragon was often sighted. The moment I stepped outside the city gates, I heard the Blood Dragon's cry. I gazed up in the sky, and there he was, flying head first like a bug-free dragon should. I then promptly shot him down with my trusty enchanted Dwarven bow. And yes, he dissolved and I absorbed his soul. That's me in the trophy shot standing next to the dragon's skull in the image below.

Verdict: The Backwards Flying Dragon now flies straight. And in my version of the game, he's deceased.

For the more serious magic resistance issue, I first tried my own version of the experiment conducted in the YouTube video above. I summoned a Storm Atronach, equipped my Spark spell, and let loose with a full mana meter's worth of lightning. The result? My Storm Atronach didn't so much as bat an eyelash. Note the "Storm Atronach resisted Sparks" message (and the rather impressed horse to the right) captured in the image below.

Verdict: Magic resistance has been restored, and for those of you feeling once bitten, twice shy, it appears safe to download patch 1.3.

To be sure, Skyrim patch 1.3 really only addresses the issues caused by patch 1.2. If you're looking for major fixes across the board, this is not the update you've been waiting for. The Skyrim Forum post on patch 1.3 confirms as much, with a number of posters noting that while the patch does fix the backwards flying dragons and magic resistance issues, it actually seems to make another minor issue, placing books on bookshelves in player-owned homes, worse. Guess it's back to the patch drawing board for Bethesda after the holiday break.

Spy Guy says: I've got to admit, I've lucked out in that my Skyrim experience has been relatively bug and glitch free. But I certainly empathize with those of you struggling to enjoy Bethesda's open world adventure. If there's one issue you'd like to see fixed post haste, what would it be?